Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Alov (September 26, 1923June 12, 1983, born Lapsker) was a Soviet

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, he was granted the honorary title of

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

in 1983 (together with

Vladimir Naumov Vladimir Naumovich Naumov (; 6 December 1927 – 29 November 2021) was a Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and pedagogue. He was the People's Artist of the USSR (1983). He was a schoolmate of Sergei Parajanov at th ...

). His 1981 film ''

Teheran 43 ''Teheran 43'' (Russian: ''Тегеран-43''; French: ''Téhéran 43, Nid d'espions'') is a 1981 Soviet-French-Swiss political thriller film made by Mosfilm, ''Mediterraneo Cine'' and ''Pro Dis Film'', directed by Aleksandr Alov and Vladimir ...

'' won the Golden Prize at the

12th Moscow International Film Festival The 12th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 7 to 21 July 1981. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Brazilian film '' O Homem que Virou Suco'' directed by João Batista de Andrade, the Vietnamese film '' The Abandoned Field: Free ...

. After military service in the Great Patriotic War, Alov studied with

Igor Savchenko Igor Andreyevich Savchenko () or Ihor Andriyovych Savchenko (; 11 October 1906 – 14 December 1950) was a Soviet screenwriter and film director of Ukrainian origin. He has often been cited as one of the great early Soviet filmmakers, alongside Se ...

VGIK The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, officially the S. A. Gerasimov All-Russian University of Cinematography (, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov''), a.k.a. VGIK, is a film school in Moscow, ...

, graduating in 1951. He worked as an assistant to Savchenko on the war epic ''

The Third Blow ''The Third Blow'' () is a Soviet 1948 war film directed by Igor Savchenko. Plot In April 1944, Joseph Stalin orders the Red Army to liberate the Crimea from the German occupiers. The Wehrmacht's local commanders beg Hitler to allow them to retr ...

'' (1948). After his teacher’s untimely death, he and fellow student Vladimir Naumov were entrusted with the completion of Savchenko’s last picture, the biopic ''

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...

'' (1949). Following the success of that debut, Alov and Naumov began to make films at the Kiev film studio as a team under the label “Alov and Naumov”. ''Restless Youth'' (1954), their first film, is about Ukrainian Komsomol members who successfully defeat an incompetent administrator. ''

Pavel Korchagin Pavel Korchagin is the protagonist of the Soviet novel ''How the Steel Was Tempered ''How the Steel Was Tempered'' () or ''The Making of a Hero'', is a socialist realist novel written by Nikolai Ostrovsky (1904–1936). With 36.4 million cop ...

'' (1956), adapted from Nikolai Ostrovsky’s novel

How the Steel Was Tempered ''How the Steel Was Tempered'' () or ''The Making of a Hero'', is a socialist realist novel written by Nikolai Ostrovsky (1904–1936). With 36.4 million copies sold, it is one of the best-selling books of all time and the best-selling book ...

(1932), is about a soldier who is injured in the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

. The third installment of this loose trilogy about Soviet youth, '' The Wind'' (1958), was made after Alov and Naumov’s 1957 move to Mosfilm Studio. It tells the story of four friends’ sojourn to the first Komsomol Congress in Moscow. The film which would end up being the most popular work by Alov and Naumov was '' The Flight'' (1970), adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s tragedy about the 1918–1921 Civil War and subsequent mass emigration.

Filmography

:''Note: all films are co-directed with

'' * ''

'' (1951) * ''Restless Youth'' (1954) * ''

(Павел Корчагин)'' (1957) * '' The Wind'' (1959) * ''

Peace to Him Who Enters ''Peace to Him Who Enters'' () is a 1961 Soviet war drama film written and directed by Aleksandr Alov and Vladimir Naumov. Set in World War II, it tells the story of three Soviet soldiers who try to rescue a trapped pregnant German woman by taki ...

'' (1961) * ''The Coin'' (1965) * ''

The Ugly Story ''The Ugly Story'' () is a 1966 Soviet comedy film directed by Aleksandr Alov and Vladimir Naumov. The film was not released and was banned. According to one version, the only negative of the film was secretly taken out of the studio and kept at h ...

'' (1966) * '' The Flight'' (1970) * ''Legend About Thiel'' (1976) * ''

'' (1981) * '' The Shore'' (1984)

Notes

References

External links

* 1923 births 1983 deaths Film people from Kharkiv Soviet film directors Soviet screenwriters Soviet male screenwriters Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni Academic staff of the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography Soviet military personnel of World War II People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the USSR State Prize Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery {{USSR-film-director-stub